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The two Houses of Parliament were not allowed to function for more than 45 minutes each on Wednesday, after being rocked by repeated interruptions on the alleged inconsistencies in the statement by Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday about the India-Pakistan clash on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the major opposition grouping, has filed a privilege motion against the minister.
The dead jawans belonged to the 21 Bihar Regiment and the families of four of them are from the Chhapra-Patna area. The bodies were to reach Bihar on Wednesday night. They were received in Jammu with state honours.
The Directors-General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries spoke to each other on the hotline, one of the confidence building measures which has endured even at the height of tension between India and Pakistan. Still, it seemed that the scheduled India-Pak talks were on the brink of being called off.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called BJP leaders to his residence to explain how the ambush of the Indian soldiers took place but the party wasn’t satisfied and insisted Antony had misled Parliament.
The charge was led by the seniormost BJP leader, L K Advani. He said there was no rationale for the government to talk to Pakistan after this.
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BJP senior leader Yashwant Sinha’s point was that there was a big inconsistency between the account of the minister and the defence ministry. While Antony’s statement mentioned persons ‘dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms” were involved in the ambush, the ministry statement from Jammu on Tuesday night said "a patrol of the Indian Army comprising of one Non- Commissioned Officer and five other ranks was ambushed by a Pak Border Action Team close to the LoC in the Poonch sector of J&K early morning”.
Antony said the ambush took place on “our side of the LoC”. MPs asked how Pak army personnel could have come so deep into the Indian side. That apart, Sushma Swaraj, Sinha and others wanted to know which account was the right one and why Antony had told Parliament something other than what the army was saying.
Parliamentary Minister Kamal Nath said Antony had relied upon the facts available at the time. But the opposition was unconvinced. “We want to know why the defence minister is letting Pakistan off the hook by claiming the state of Pakistan had nothing to do with the incident,” Sinha, Swaraj and Advani said.
Antony, in his defence in the Rajya Sabha, said:"When as defence minister I make a statement in Parliament, I have to clarify on whatever information I have. Today, the army chief has gone to the area; let him come back. If there are some other details, I will convey to you."
Adding: "Regarding the defence and protection of integrity of the country, the nation is one, Parliament is one...There is no compromise on this."
The BJP’s Venkiah Naidu said he couldn’t understand whom Antony was trying to protect. “What compelled the government to supersede an earlier statement...Government wants to be silent. Why Antony, a person of sincerity honesty and integrity, is doing this?...The second statement gives an escape route to Pakistan. Please understand our agony. It's not a Congress or BJP issue. It is a national issue. Two contradictory statements. One statement gives an escape route to Pakistan.”
Agencies quoted Pakistan government officials as saying they’d had nothing to do with the attack: “Pakistan army DGMO strongly and categorically rejected Indian allegations of violation by Pakistan troops and killing of five Indian soldiers at the LoC in the Poonch sector on 5-6 August night,” agency reports from Islamabad said.
An official from the Pak government said Pakistan had lodged a strong protest during the hotline talk for “LoC violation by Indian troops in the Pandu sector on Wednesday, in which two Pakistan soldiers were seriously wounded”...It was reiterated by the Pak Army DGMO that Pakistan abides by the ceasefire agreement between the two countries,” said the official.
ALSO READ: Anger in Par over killing of soldiers on LoC
